More Than Just Fighting
by potatoslayer4
Summary: Ruby has just defeated an Elysium Paladin and is Proud of it. But when a Huntsman berates her for what should be a praisable accomplishment, will Ruby learn that there is more to being a huntress than fighting? (One shot). No language or questionable themes.


Ruby, Weiss, and the gang sat silently on boxes as police and detectives walked past. Team RWBY had just taken down an Elysium Paladin and watched as the police and detectives of Vale surveyed the damage and cleaned up pieces of broken mech. All four of them had already given their accounts of what happened and now simply sat in silence as the authorities did their jobs.

The four girls didn't notice the footsteps getting closer behind them until a voice spoke out.

"Which of you is the leader of this team?" the voice asked emotionlessly. The four girls turned, startled, (even Blake despite her exceptional hearing). In front of them stood a tall man who looked to be in his late twenties. He wore a ranger's jacket and tough denim blue jeans. His twin tomahawks stood out as they hung from his belt. He wore the mark of a full Huntsman, not a student.

"I am." Ruby nervously spoke up.

"I am Cyrus Hull. Could you come with me please?" Ruby gave an affirmative nod and followed the man, signaling the others to stay put. The two walked a short distance away from the rest of team rwby and stopped. Cyrus turned around, anger and disappointment now shone in his eyes.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" he asked in a low and disappointed tone.

"We took down that mech and hit Torchwick and the Fang hard!" Ruby exclaimed in an excited tone over what she had accomplished. Cyrus facepalmed and decided on a different approach.

"Do you know what you did wrong today Ruby?" Cyrus asked the girl.

"Well Yang was a little clumsy in her attack pattern but I think that's something we can…"

"No!" Cyrus exclaimed shocking Ruby into silence. "You four are students, not huntresses. What makes you think you have the authority to mount such an operation?!"

"We just wanted to help." Ruby tried feebly.

"You four are not huntresses yet. You don't even know how to do this right yet!" Cyrus shouted.

"Excuse me?! We just took down an ELYSIUM PALADIN! How can you say we did it wrong?" Ruby shot back dispensing with any respect she had for the Huntsman.

"You four are capable fighters. This proves that. But there is more to being a huntsman than fighting!" Cyrus lectures, "You and your team didn't even give a thought to the people in the town, the people on the freeway who's lives you risked. That Paladin chased you onto the bridge and as a result you put innocents in harm's way! You were extremely lucky those families, those children, got away with minor injuries!"

Horrified realization dawned on Ruby as she understood her mistake. Those cars on the freeway had innocent men, women, and children in them. Her team's carelessness could have gotten innocents killed.

"I didn't lead the mech onto the freeway." Ruby quietly said in dissapointment.

"No, but you have to get used to being responsible for your team's actions." Ruby took the advice and contemplated it thoroughly in her head.

"I'm sending you back to Beacon for now. Ozpin will want to talk to you. I wouldn't be surprised if he suspends your team and bans them from the tournament."

As Cyrus walks back towards a group of policemen, he stops and turns around,

"Consider yourself lucky. If anyone had been killed in that disaster, your team would be on the first airship out of Beacon." Cyrus finished before walking off in the direction he had previously been headed.

Ruby stood in place for a while before walking back to her teammates.

"Come guys, let's go home." Ruby told the others.

As they walked back to Beacon, three members of team RWBY talked excitedly about their accomplishment against the Paladin. Ruby walked in silence, thinking about what the huntsman had said to her. She stayed mostly silent on the way back, while getting ready for bed, and when everyone else was asleep, she lay on her bed staring at the ceiling. She finally decided to stop thinking and go to sleep. She silently vowed to do better from then on.

Ruby had learned a lot about leadership that day.


End file.
